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January 21, 2007 (Sunday) － Issue No. 85 |
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'The
First Emperor' Promotes Communist Party Culture |
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Documents
Show China's Military Out of Control |
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China
Outcry Grows Over Beating Death of Reporter |
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Do My Wares Come From? Among those goods shelved in retail stores across the country marked "Made in China," some have been produced within China's huge “re-education through labor camp system.” It is estimated that somewhere between 4 to 6 million, a population perhaps nearly as large as Australia's entire work force, are held in these camps, which in Chinese are known as Laogai....…Full Article |
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San Francisco Celebrates 17 Million Withdrawals from the CCP The California Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a rally and parade to celebrate 17 million withdrawals from CCP and its related organizations at noon on January 14, at Portsmouth Square in San Francisco......…Full Article |
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In 2002, the movie Hero was received with much controversy for its implicit endorsement of governing by violence and killing. Four years later, following the same vein of thought and made by the same director, The First Emperor, a lavishly produced new opera with the best-known singers in the world, opened on December 21 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Prostituting Chinese Culture The producers of the opera The First Emperor invited world acclaimed composers and actors for the opera in the name of promoting Chinese culture. In reality, the values they promote are just opposite the Chinese culture. The Chinese cultural essence lies in the Daoist cultivation of truth, the Buddhist salvation of all beings, and the Confucian value of benevolence. The Chinese culture values respect for gods and treasures life. We uphold an open attitude in absorbing advanced cultures from other nations; we aspire to be the ocean that can contain hundreds of streams, and we value harmony. As Confucius has said, "(Thus) if the people from afar are not compliant, bring them around by cultivating (our) culture and virtue." To communicate this cultural essence to the western world so that westerners can understand it, one has to convey the Chinese culture's spiritual depth and its encompassing breadth. The producers, however, twisted history, and melted voodoo, violence and sex into one pot in cooking up the opera "The First Emperor." They advocate the legitimacy of killing, and promote violence worship and submission to despots. This is prostituting the Chinese culture, and undermining the dignity of the Chinese nation. Promoting Party Culture Through Art Mao Zedong once said he was Marx plus the Emperor Qin. Many factors in the communist party culture bear similarity to Emperor Qin's use of violence and trickery. Thus, Zhang Yimou uses Emperor Qin repeatedly as a proto-model, defending the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through altering history. If we accept the moral standard transmitted by "The First Emperor," then we will be accepting the CCP's dictatorship, deceit, and suppression. To defend The First Emperor is to defend the CCP. Values are reflected in culture. If the opera producers are willing to submit to violent rule, that is their personal choice. But the problem comes when they use aestheticism to promote wicked values. The CCP is a regime so fanatical about national mind control that a song like "The Internationale" becomes intolerable—lyrics such as "Army of slaves, arise, arise!" are sure to upset the CCP agenda. The writers and directors of The First Emperor demonstrate that they are so in tune with their masters' needs that they portray Emperor Qin's would-be assassin as a lunatic who later abandons his assassination attempt. Narrative twists like these are certainly why the CCP favors this opera. Only when Chinese
artists break free from the CCP's mind control can they accurately
interpret Chinese culture, presenting the true beauty of a spectacular,
fascinating and rich ancient tradition. Back Recently, Hu Jintao emphasized the party's absolute leadership over the military at the Central Military Commission's end of year meeting. Since the end of November 2006, five documents addressing the same topic were issued within 20 days. Party's Absolute Leadership over Military During the Central Military Commission end of the year meeting, Hu said, "We have many things to do, but we cannot slack off the army and military issues a single moment… the Party's absolute leadership over the military is a principle that should be strictly and firmly followed in any time and any condition…" War Preparation and Military & Technology Training On November 27, 2006, Communist Party Central Committee's Central Military Commission issued a document titled "Requirements Regarding Strengthen War Preparation and Military & Technology Training." The document emphasizes that during peacetime, the army needs to improve its quality, high-tech military equipment, tactics and technologies, as well as eliminate fake inventions, fake technology improvements and fake progress. No Political Party, Group or Religious Activities On December 1, 2006, Communist Party Central Committee, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission issued a document titled "Notice Regarding No Political Party, Group or Religious Activities Allowed in Army and Military System." The Documents
consist of five points: Relationship between Military and Local Government and People The document requires the army, military and national defense system to follow local regulations strictly, and not to damage or infringe on local interests. Actually, in many places, the relationship between local municipalities and the army has been very tense; armed conflicts have never ceased. On September 9, 2006, the Yangquan Military Sub-District in Shanxi Province mobilized troops to force the local government to relocate their building. In October 2006,
the air force of the Qingdao Navy in Shangdong Province fought with
the Qingdao municipal civil armed forces department for the property
rights of two villas; the military surrounded the government. The
deadlock was only broken after the Shandong Provincial Military District
General arrived on the scene.Back CHINA—The phrase "Chinese government" has been censored on China's official Web sites. If one searches for "central government of the People's Republic of China" on the Best Tone 114 Web site (China Telecom's Internet phone service and information platform), one gets: "Sensitive phrase: [we] can only provide news search service." An Internet user from China told the reporter that even "Mao Zedong" is listed as "illegal information" in some of China's search engines. On the Best Tone 114 Web site, not only is "central government of the People's Republic of China" censored, but "democracy" and the "National People's Congress" are also considered sensitive information. Zhou Guoqiang, an Internet user from Beijing, said he often comes across such disconcerting situations. Zhou said, "When you search 'Mao Zedong,' 'Zhu Rongji' [China's previous premier], and 'Wen Jiabao' [China's current premier], many Internet search engines will tell you these are illegal phrases. Some chat Web sites won't even let you key in these phrases." According to Zhou, administrators of Chinese Web sites often receive from the government lists of phrases to filter out. All phrases fall into two categories, those that can and those that cannot be searched. Users get "illegal information" in the results if their search falls in the latter category. Sometimes users protest about the censored words being outrageous. Then the administrator will come out and apologize for "technical errors." Internet control by the Chinese government not only affects what results the Internet users get, but also impedes the freedom of posting messages on the Internet. Zhou said there are ways to bypass this. "One can add a space between characters of the censored phrases or simply create new names for the censored phrases. We refer to Jiang Zemin as Jiang, and the Chinese Communist Party as 'Wei-Guang-Zheng' ["great-honorable-righteous," the three words that have always been used to describe the Chinese Communist Party by the Chinese media]. There is a large pool of [these] misused words but it is becoming chaotic." Fang Jue, a commentator
on China issues who currently resides in the U.S., said, "Censoring
the phrase 'Chinese government' tells people that government control
over the media is way too much. Internet control in China blocks all
phrases that can possibly lead the people to ponder democracy, freedom,
and human rights. The range of control is going too far. They are
blocking every neutral phrase that relates to politics." Back BEIJING—Chinese police are investigating the death of a reporter beaten up while probing the country's deadly coal mines, media reported on Wednesday amid a growing outcry. Lan Chengzhang, who worked for the China Trade News, died of an apparent brain hemorrhage on Jan. 10 after he was beaten while visiting a mine in Hunyuan County in the northern province of Shanxi, an editor with the paper told Reuters. "That's what we've heard, but the local authorities haven't given us an official explanation yet," said the editor, Wang Jianfeng. Communist Party censors strictly control the Chinese press, but even state-controlled media have seized on Lan's death, raising questions about local officials' conduct, Lan's motives, and the rights of the country's beleaguered reporters. "For a reporter to be beaten to death is undoubtedly a major event in a world that venerates democracy and freedom of information," said a comment on the Web site of the Southern Daily (www.southerncn.com). Another stated: "Any country that even slightly values citizens' right to know and freedom of the press would actively and appropriately investigate and deal with this case." Shanxi officials have said Lan was not an accredited reporter and suggested that he might have been seeking payoffs in return for not reporting problems at the mine, China Youth Daily said. But Trade News editor-in-chief said Lan was "certainly a real reporter" and Chinese newspapers said Lan's lack of official approval was no excuse to beat him. "I don't know whether Lan Chengzhang was reporting or blackmailing, but it is ignorant and disgraceful to absolve thugs of responsibility by citing blackmail," commented the Southern Metropolitan Daily, a tabloid based in Guangzhou, on Wednesday. The Trade News chief reporter in Shanxi, who gave his surname as Chang, said editors from the paper and officials from China's official journalists association were now there investigating Lan's death. "We take the issue seriously, and after we got the information, we sent staff to investigate," Li Cunhou, the Communist Party secretary of the association, told Reuters. "If it concerned a real journalist, we will protect his rights and deal with the issue severely." Shanxi has assigned 70 police officers to investigate the beating and death, the Metropolitan Daily reported. Chinese journalists who went to investigate Lan's death were blocked by police from entering the hospital where he died, igniting a clash between reporters and police, it said. China's coal mines
are the deadliest of any major producer, and Shanxi, with its abundance
of mines, is a focus of official efforts to reduce fatalities. Back Among those goods shelved in retail stores across the country marked "Made in China," some have been produced within China's huge re-education through labor camp system. It is estimated that somewhere between 4 to 6 million, a population perhaps nearly as large as Australia's entire work force, are held in these camps, which in Chinese are known as Laogai. The consumer goods made in these camps make their way to overseas markets. It is reported that over 200 different products made in the Laogai are exported. While playing an important part in China's economy, this unpaid slave labor is a tool that has been used by the communist regime to maintain control over the Chinese population for decades. It is a system designed to stamp out those who have differing political, social, or religious views to that of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). These camps aim to crush inmates physically, mentally, and spiritually. Those incarcerated in these labor camps are made up of two groups of people—criminals and the largest group of inmates, who are dissidents, such as members of underground Christian churches, Falun Gong practitioners, and democracy or free speech advocates. According to Amnesty International, those Chinese who are receiving terms in labor camps are denied access to a lawyer and have no court hearing. "Sentencing" is usually decided by the Chinese police alone. Chinese people can be retained in a labor camp for up to 4 years and are at high risk of being beaten or tortured, particularly if they refuse to recant their "crimes." Former labor camp inmate Jennifer Zheng, in her book Witness to History, gave detailed descriptions about the abuses and atrocities that occurred in a Laogai in Beijing. "We were made to work 7 days a week, from 5:30 in the morning to 1 or 2 a.m. If there were quotas to fill, we would work for days without sleep," she wrote. Ms. Zheng said that some of the toys she was forced to make were for Nestle. During her imprisonment, Ms. Zheng was shocked with an electric baton until she lost consciousness. She was also deprived of sleep in an attempt to "re-educate" her, to force her to renounce her belief in the spiritual practice of Falun Gong.* Ms. Zheng is one of tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners who have been sent to Laogais. Of the nearly 3,000 confirmed deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in China during the regime's persecution, it is believed that most of these have occurred within Laogais. While this pool of cheap labor enhances China's economy, the CCP Laogai system is similar to the Nazis use of concentration camps and the Soviets use of Gulags. This free labor en masse is one explanation of why goods from China are so cheap. Although retailers may be assured by exporting companies that the produce being sold is manufactured under humane conditions, how can we be completely assured when forced labor inside mainland China is so widespread and continues to go largely unchecked? "The outside world believes that China has changed. China's Human Rights state has improved, and everyone is so eager to do business with China without really knowing the real state of China, without knowing that so many people were tortured and murdered in the labor camps," wrote Jennifer Zheng. Back San
Francisco Celebrates 17 Million Withdrawals from the CCP Back SAN FRANCISCO—The California Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a rally and parade at Portsmouth Square on January 14 in San Francisco to celebrate the 17 million withdrawals from the CCP and its related organizations. The event included presentations by the San Francisco Divine Land Marching Band and the dance team, with both ensembles consisting of Chinese and Western Falun Gong practitioners. These dynamic performances drew in many passersby who later stayed to hear the moving words from guest speakers. Rally host, Ma Youzhi, a representative from the Service Center for Quitting the CCP, proclaimed, "17 million Chinese have already quit the CCP. Today is a big day of celebration!" During Mr. Ma's speech, he explained that while everyone now knows the CCP's history, it continues to kill and rob people because its essence has never changed. He mentioned that just in the past month, Jiangsu Province authorities forcibly demolished a 75-year-old man's house while he was still in it. The man died from falling debris, and the authorities sold his house to businessmen for profit. Later, six armed vehicles took away the corpse. Another speaker, Wang Feng, a senior manager of a high-tech company in the Bay Area, referenced the old adage of, "the straw that broke the camel's back" to illustrate the concept of an indeterminate turning point. "No one knows how many straws it will take to break the camel's back, just as no one can tell when the opportunity for withdrawing from the CCP will end." Wang warned, "If one does not quit the CCP before this turning point, they may never be able to claim freedom from this evil." Back |
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